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Philippians 2:1-11 (ANIV)
1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, [1]
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature [2] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

[1]
Or, in the form of.

[2]
Or, the form.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
Unspecified.

LIGHTING NOTES:
Lighting for this scene comes from the heavenly figure of God on the right of the scene.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
The two main figures are both Jesus. On the left we see him hanging on the cross & on the right we see him ascended into heaven & glowing with divine light. There are many worshipping figures around this figures feet.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
I once heard a preacher talking about this verse & he used a big “V” for victory to describe this scriptural text. This can be demonstrated with the image seen below:

The preacher pointed out that Jesus has 2 natures: that of God & that of man. Jesus was eternally in heaven having all the attributes of God, but then gave up his rightful position of honour in heaven in order to become a man & live amongst his creation. In so doing we have a supreme example of sinless perfection in Jesus the Christ. But Jesus went further, his mission was not simply to live amongst us, it was always to die for us, in our place, & so atone for our sinfulness & take our sins upon his own body. Only then could that sinless man take away our sins, once & for all, & thereby gain for us a complete salvation, opening up our own pathway back to the Father in heaven. It was always necessary for Jesus to die as a substitute for us, but he went even further than that: he died on a cross, which to the Jews was the worst form of capital punishment. Indeed there is a scripture which reads “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree (or cross.)” * This descent in humility is represented in the text on the left of the “V”, which is read from top to bottom, following the red descending arrow (verses 5-8.)

The bottom of the “V” is the point of Jesus’ death on the cross.

Verse 9 starts with “Therefore” – referring to the previous verses 5-8; Paul now gives us the consequence of Jesus’ death on the cross: the ascending outcome of his sacrifice on our behalf, which is that his name (Jesus) is now the most powerful name in all the cosmos. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name…”

Following the crucifixion (the humiliation) we have Jesus’ bodily resurrection & ascension back into heaven. As a result of Christ’s personal sacrifice of his life for all mankind, God the father exalts the Son. The atonement for our sins is the greatest event in history. The sinless man dying for all mankind is the ultimate sacrifice of a loving God for His own created beings (us.) Therefore, after the cross of Jesus comes the ascension into glory & recognition of the value of the finished work of Jesus.

The text on the right of the “V” which is illustrated by the blue arrow, is read from the bottom to the top (verses 9-11.) The text clearly says that God the Father has given Jesus the name above every name & that all people everywhere will have to bend the knee in submission to Jesus as a result of his mission to Earth, to save everyone.

*Galatians 3:13 (ANIV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”